It’s a fascinating question—and it becomes especially important when you’re dealing with swelling after surgery, recovering from an injury, or noticing swelling after a long flight or car ride.
Unlike your circulatory system, the lymphatic system doesn't have one powerful central pump.
So how does lymph move?
The answer is one of the reasons Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) can be such a gentle yet valuable technique for supporting healthy lymph flow.
Your lymphatic system is a network of vessels, nodes, and tissues that helps move excess fluid and other substances through your body.
Think of it as part of your body's drainage and transportation system.
Fluid is constantly leaving your blood vessels and entering the tissues. Much of that fluid eventually needs to be collected and returned to circulation. The lymphatic system helps with this process.
But there is an interesting difference between lymph and blood:
Your blood has the heart. Lymph doesn't.
The heart continuously pumps blood through your arteries and veins. The lymphatic system relies on several different mechanisms to keep lymph moving instead.
This is where things get interesting.
Lymph movement is assisted by muscle movement, breathing, changes in pressure within the body, and the natural contractions of lymphatic vessels themselves.
Everyday movement can therefore help support lymph flow.
But what happens when that normal movement is disrupted?
That's where Manual Lymphatic Drainage may be especially useful.
After surgery, for example, tissues can become swollen and irritated. A person may also be less active while recovering. The normal pathways through which fluid moves can be affected by surgery, inflammation, tissue changes, or removal of lymph nodes.
Traveling to Maui often means spending many hours sitting on an airplane before you ever reach the island.
When you're seated for a long period of time, especially with your feet down, pressure in the veins of your legs can increase. With less movement from your leg muscles to help circulate fluid, some fluid can move into the surrounding tissues. The result can be temporarily puffy feet, ankles, or legs—and that heavy, swollen feeling many travelers recognize after a long flight.
And the journey doesn't necessarily end when you leave the airport.
Here on Maui, you might spend additional hours sitting in a car, whether you're heading to Hana, exploring the island, or making the drive up Haleakalā. Long periods of sitting can contribute to fluid accumulation as well.
There is another interesting factor when traveling by air: cabin pressure changes. Commercial aircraft cabins are pressurized to an altitude equivalent of roughly 6,000–8,000 feet, which is considerably different from sea-level pressure. Your body has to adjust to these environmental changes during the flight.
So when you arrive in Maui feeling a little puffy after hours of travel, you're experiencing a combination of factors—not simply a problem with your lymphatic system.
Prolonged sitting and reduced movement are important contributors to travel-related swelling, while the changes in cabin environment are another part of what your body experiences during air travel.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage can be a gentle way to support normal lymphatic flow and provide a relaxing experience after a long journey.
If you experience significant, persistent, painful, or one-sided swelling after travel—particularly if it is accompanied by warmth, redness, chest pain, or shortness of breath—seek medical attention rather than assuming it is ordinary travel-related swelling.
This is one of the most interesting things about MLD.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage uses very light, rhythmic, precise movements on the skin to encourage the movement of lymph through the lymphatic pathways.
It isn't deep-tissue massage.
It isn't about digging into swollen tissue.
And it shouldn't feel painful.
The technique is intentionally gentle because the lymphatic vessels are located relatively close to the surface of the body.
Using the Vodder Manual Lymphatic Drainage approach, the therapist works with the direction and pathways of the lymphatic system rather than simply pushing fluid around randomly.
The goal is to support the body's natural lymphatic drainage process.
If you've never experienced Manual Lymphatic Drainage before, you may be surprised by how gentle it feels.
There is no need for the deep pressure many people associate with massage.
Instead, the movements are light, slow, and rhythmic.
Some people describe the sensation as soothing, relaxing, or almost like a gentle skin-stretching movement.
That doesn't mean the technique isn't doing anything.
Gentle is intentional.
MLD is designed around the anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system, rather than relying on force.
Swelling is common after many types of surgery because the body has experienced tissue trauma and needs time to recover.
Depending on the type of procedure and your individual circumstances, Manual Lymphatic Drainage may be incorporated into a post-surgical recovery plan to support lymphatic flow and help manage swelling.
This is particularly relevant following procedures where significant tissue swelling is expected, including certain cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures.
However, MLD isn't appropriate for every person or every stage of recovery.
If you have recently had surgery, always follow your surgeon's instructions regarding massage and lymphatic work and get medical clearance when appropriate.
And if swelling is sudden, severe, painful, accompanied by redness or unusual warmth, or otherwise concerning, seek medical evaluation rather than assuming it is simply something massage should address.
Traveling to Maui can mean spending many hours sitting on an airplane.
By the time you arrive, you may notice that your feet, ankles, legs, hands, or other areas feel puffy or swollen.
Extended sitting means less muscle movement, which can affect normal fluid movement through the body.
Then you arrive in Hawaiʻi and perhaps spend your first day relaxing, sitting in the car, or taking a long drive.
Your body may simply appreciate some gentle support.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage can be a wonderful addition to a vacation focused on rest and recovery, particularly for people who already know that prolonged sitting tends to leave them feeling swollen or uncomfortable.
If you're visiting West Maui and would like to experience Manual Lymphatic Drainage, I offer Vodder Manual Lymphatic Drainage at Black Rock Spa at the Sheraton Kaanapali Beach Resort.
I'm Laura Cavanaugh, LMT HI mat #9554, and I've been practicing massage therapy since 1996. MLD has become an important part of the work I offer because it is so different from conventional massage.
At the spa, MLD is offered within the Makana Swedish Massage service, when you request me, Laura Cavanaugh to be your therapist - you must request me since at this date MLD is not listed on the spa menu.
If you'd like to request me for your appointment, you have two options:
DM me directly, (808) 264-8643 and I can help you arrange your session.
Or, when booking through Black Rock Spa, select:
Makana Swedish Massage — 60 or 80 minutes
Then request Laura Cavanaugh as your therapist.
If you're coming to Maui after a long flight, recovering from a procedure with your medical provider's approval, or simply interested in experiencing this gentle and fascinating form of bodywork, I'd be happy to work with you.
Your lymphatic system doesn't have a heart.
It doesn't have one central pump pushing lymph through your body every second.
Instead, it depends on a beautifully coordinated system of movement, breathing, pressure changes, and vessel contractions to keep lymph moving.
And when that system needs a little extra support, Manual Lymphatic Drainage offers a gentle way to work with—not against—the body's own lymphatic pathways.
Your body already knows how to move lymph. MLD simply helps support the process.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage is not a substitute for medical care. If you have a medical condition, significant swelling, or are recovering from surgery, consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider regarding whether MLD is appropriate for you.
“Just loved my massage with Laura! She did a great job and is super knowledgeable about massage/technique. When we return to Maui we will definitely get in touch again....we may even do second massages on this trip if we can squeeze it in we enjoyed it so much! Thanks Laura!” Lauren McClure
